Stretching the truth at the GOP
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her Republican supporters held back little Wednesday as they issued dismissive attacks on Barack Obama and flattering praise on her credentials to be vice president. In some cases, the reproach and the praise stretched the truth. Some examples: PALIN: "I have protected the taxpayers by...Muslim charities negotiate a minefield
NEW YORK (IPS) — As Muslims begin one of their most important holidays — the month of Ramadan — charitable organizations serving the American Muslim community are taking what some observers believe is a desperate last step to keep the U.S. government from shutting them down. Muslim Advocates (MA), a San Francisco-based national...Joe Biden’s mixed up bag on the Middle East
Barack Obama's vice presidential pick, Joe Biden, is a self-avowed Zionist. As he explained to an American Jewish TV station last year, you don't have to be Jewish to be Zionist. Of course, this discovery is not uniquely his. It is shared by the likes of John Hagee of the Christian Zionists, whose power is courted by Israel but whose...
Dems rally behind Obama, Biden
August 29th, 20080 Election stirs hopes, fears in U.S. Iraqis WASHINGTON (IPS) — As the November election nears, Iraqis in the United States appear divided over their preferences for the next U.S. president, according to a series of interviews carried out by IPS. Some see in Sen. John McCain, the presumed Republican candidate who has opposed a...Local law enforcement of immigration rules debated
Washington — Over 200 scholars, government officials, community and law enforcement leaders gathered to discuss the impact of local law enforcement of immigration law, during a conference August 21-22, in Washington, D.C. The conference, entitled "The Role of Local Police: Striking a Balance between Immigration Enforcement and...McCain shows same intellect as Bush
New York — Russia invades Georgia and President Bush goes on vacation. Our president has spent one-third of his entire two terms in office either at Camp David, Maryland, or at Crawford, Texas, on vacation. His time away from the Oval Office included the month leading up to 9/11, when there were signs Osama bin Laden was planning...Spying law quickly challenged
NEW YORK (IPS) — Civil liberties advocates lost no time in asking a federal court to stop the government from conducting surveillance under the new wiretapping law passed by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush last month. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and a coalition of other groups declared that the new law...An awful shame
The 1980s were a difficult time for Arab Americans. Politicians returned our contributions, rejected our endorsements, and many effectively hung "No Arab Americans allowed" signs on their campaign doors. Back then, we wrote about this situation, calling it "the politics of exclusion." We fought back. We organized, worked hard, and...Newly released documents show preferential treatment for Israeli lobby
WASHINGTON — More than one thousand documents released under Freedom of Information Act filings reveal details of a secret battle that raged between founders of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and top U.S. law enforcement officials. The new book "America's Defense Line: The Justice Department's Battle to Register...Voting rights of Arab American citizens
No day is more important in the United States than election day. It is a day on which all Americans are equal as they go to the polls. Too often, though, discrimination, ignorance or incompetence take away the right to equal treatment and interfere with the right to vote. In 2000, the Department of Justice successfully...Neocon flap highlights Jewish divide
WASHINGTON (IPS) — A mushrooming media controversy pitting neoconservatives against a prominent Jewish-American political commentator could mark a new stage in the growing battle over who speaks for the U.S. Jewish community on foreign policy issues, particularly regarding the Middle East. Joe KleinTIME columnist Joe Klein's...In defense of prejudice
Palestinians look at rubbish that was thrown by Jewish settlers outside a mosque in the West Bank. REUTERS/Nayef HashlamounBeyond the Golden Gate, on a sandy shore of the cold North Pacific, spayed by black rocks and frequented by Sirens, lies Marin County. In this most delightful part of California, the Sirens do not ravish seamen;...Faith and Values Media announces winners of grants
NEW YORK — Faith & Values Media, the nation's largest coalition of Christian, Jewish and Muslim faith groups dedicated to media production, distribution and promotion, has chosen the winners for its 2008 member productions grants. The awards were given to Faith & Values Media members whose productions showed an innovative...Obama’s Muslim advisor steps down
Washington — This week, Mazen Asbahi, volunteer Muslim-outreach coordinator to the Obama campaign, tendered his resignation. The Chicago-based attorney stepped down amidst personal attacks. "I am stepping down from the volunteer role I recently agreed to take on with the Obama campaign as Arab American and Muslim American outreach...Marketing Obama to evangelicals
OAKLAND (IPS) — For the past three decades, the religious right has dominated the religio-political dialogue in the United States. The right's growth, and its agenda — which revolved around so-called traditional family values issues including, but not limited to, opposition to abortion and to full equality for gays and lesbians......
In Israel, Obama looks to votes back home
August 1st, 20080 JERUSALEM (IPS) — Lighting a remembrance flame at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. Speaking against the backdrop of a pile of empty rocket casings in the southern town of Sderot. Standing solemnly, face close to the stones of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. These are the images that Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama...Iran in spotlight at Christian Zionist confab
WASHINGTON (IPS) — The controversial Christian Zionist pastor John Hagee and thousands of supporters filled a convention center in downtown Washington this week for his Christians United for Israel (CUFI) organization's Washington-Israel Summit, where the "Iranian threat" was a recurrent theme. CUFI is a proponent of Christian......
Ellison addresses Muslim females
WASHINGTON — Female Muslim attorneys, leaders and students from all over the world and the United States descended on Washington, D.C. last week for an intensive summer program on law and leadership. Rep. Keith Ellison spoke with the group near the end of the program, imparting words of wisdom and sharing his own experiences....Islam bullish in a bear market
The funny thing about faith-based mutual funds is, well, that there's anything called a faith-based mutual fund. For one thing, scripture is full of exhortations against accumulating wealth. The New Testament, especially, repeatedly reminds followers of Christ that earthly wealth means nothing in heaven. "It is easier for a camel to...Hamdan case to test military tribunals
NEW YORK (IPS) — As the long-awaited trial of Guantanamo detainee Salim Ahmed Hamdan opened this week at the U.S. naval base in Cuba, human rights groups filed suit demanding that the Department of Justice (DOJ) produce documents related to the U.S. government's ghost detention, torture and extraordinary rendition program....Doves outnumber hawks in Jewish community
WASHINGTON (IPS) — A new poll suggests that U.S. Jews hold views about the Middle East that are considerably more dovish than frequently acknowledged, with large majorities favoring diplomacy with Iran, supporting a two-state solution in Israel/Palestine, and advocating U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. U.S. Jews also favor Barack Obama......
Kucinich: Impeach Bush, create Department of Peace
Congressman Dennis Kucinich introduced a new article of impeachment against President Bush in the House last Thursday. In a single, pointed resolution, he charged the president with lying to Congress about the presence of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in Iraq, in order to obtain permission for a U.S. attack. In the hour...Groups concerned about DOJ guidelines
Washington — The Muslim Public Affairs Council, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the Arab American Institute (AAI), and other organizations are concerned by an Associated Press report quoting "senior FBI, Justice Department, and U.S. intelligence officials" concerning new Department of Justice guidelines......
“State Secrets” privilege derails rendition suit
NEW YORK (IPS) — Maher Arar, whose "rendition" to Syria is widely viewed as an egregious example of mistaken identity, has again been denied the right to appear in court, and congressional efforts to rein in the George W. Bush administration's widespread use of national security as a defence appear to be foundering. Late last...Big trouble for Big Three automakers
America's automobile industry may be facing the biggest turnaround challenge in its history, a problem punctuated Tuesday as the carmakers released monthly sales results. Times were tough enough in Detroit before gasoline hit $4 per gallon, but in the past two months the outlook has taken a turn for the worse. Shares of......